From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja

The governors of the 36 states of the federation have pledged to heed President Muhammadu Buhari’s directives to pay workers their emoluments before the commencement of the Yuletide with the the balance of the Paris Club refund.s

A statement by the Head, Media and Public Affairs, Nigeria Governors’ Forum Secretariat, Abulrazque Barkindo, said the governors expressed profound gratitude to the president for his magnanimity in hearkening to the needs of the states and understanding with them towards helping to solve some of the intractable financial problems of governance, top among which is the lingering problem of workers’ salaries.

The statement read, “They pledged, therefore, to rise to the occasion collectively,  as a mark of their respect for President Buhari and empathy for the workers by paying before Christmas, once the Finance, the Budget and Planning Ministries and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) disburse the monies owed them, as instructed. “

The president had at his meeting with governors led by the Chairman and Zamfara State Governor, Abdulaziz Yari, directed his key finance officials to sit down with representatives of Nigeria Governors Forum to determine how much of their unpaid debts can be released to them before Christmas.

Responding to pleas by the governors led by  Yari, asking that the president give a commitment to pay all outstanding debts owed them from London and Paris Club deductions to ease their financial hardships, President Buhari said he was not averse to the payments so long as the treasury can afford it and the economy will not be destabilised.

He had said, “I will not be saying much because the responsible ministers are here: Finance, Budget and Planning and the Central Bank of Nigeria.  I request you to appoint your own team to come and sit down with them (referring to the governors).

“This should be done, not only for next year’s budget but for this Christmas. The Minister of Finance, Budget and Planning and the Central Bank should sit down with you in a sub-committee to see how much can be released before Christmas,” the President instructed.

He had added, “For Nigerians without sources other than their salary, I am concerned that workers should be able to pay rent, school fees, buy drugs and take care of their families. I am so much concerned that people should have something to eat for Christmas, President Muhammadu Buhari declared.”

The governors had appealed to the president to once again authorize the Finance ministry and the other officials to hasten the payment of the remainder of the Paris and London Club loan refunds as they had factored the monies into their 2018 budgets.

The NGF said President Buhari’s instruction that the money be paid before Christmas however draws its background from the series of delays in the previous disbursements to the states by the Finance Ministry, which by commission or omission had exacerbated and indeed increased the number of months that workers are owed salaries.

“For example, the first bailout that President Buhari approved was not paid until October, four months after the president had given approval for the money to be paid. It was the same practice with the first tranche of the Paris-London Club repayment, which was approved in mid 2016 but took until December 2016 to hit the states’ accounts. It is imperative to add that the Paris–London funds were legitimate funds of the states and not loans as several sources had thought.

“Barring any such happenstances, however, governors, who are equally very worried about their workers’ plights, are ready to wipe away workers tears by paying their emoluments before Christmas.”